


A Madness Most Discreet

by Sauronix



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Drama and Poetry, Faux Romeo and Juliet, Flash Fic, Fluff, Gladio Sucks at Acting, Kissing, Line Reading, M/M, Mutual Attraction, Practicing for a Play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-23 09:40:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12504500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sauronix/pseuds/Sauronix
Summary: "You're putting the inflection on all the wrong places. You have to be more natural," Ignis says. He clears his throat, following the line he's reading with his index finger. "Threads innumerable do tether thee to me. For I am thine; our souls intertwine, inexorable, across the aeons. All that I have, all that I am, I surrender to thee."He looks up and finds Gladio watching him, a smile softening his mouth, though as soon as their eyes meet, his amber gaze flits away. Coughing once, Gladio turns the page on his script and reads the next line.Iris has roped Gladio into performing the lead role in her school play, and Ignis helps him memorize his lines. But it's hard to concentrate when Gladio's saying such romantic things to him. A flash fic.





	A Madness Most Discreet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [waywardmelody](https://archiveofourown.org/users/waywardmelody/gifts).



Ignis sighs and rubs his forehead, setting down his well-worn copy of Lord Valentian’s _Lucius and Faustina_. "Remind me again why they chose you to play Lucius?"  
  
"'Cause I'm dashing,” Gladio says.  
  
Ignis raises an eyebrow. “Oh, certainly. I think it rather more likely you were the only age-appropriate volunteer.”  
  
“You got me there. Acting ain’t my cup of tea, but Iris begged and begged. You know how it is.”  
  
Indeed. Iris is most persuasive when she sets her mind to it, and Gladio has never been able to deny his sister anything. In this case, he’s been roped into performing in a three-night run of _Lucius and Faustina_ at her high school—all to raise gil for the beleaguered Lucis Refugee Network, which operates shelters and aid centres throughout Insomnia. That’s why they’re sitting across from each other on Gladio’s bed, running through a five hundred year old script together.    
  
“Can we get back to this?” Gladio scans the sheets of paper in his lap, frowning, and picks up where he left off. “Threads _innumerable_ do tether thee—"  
  
"You're putting the inflection on all the wrong places. You have to be more natural," Ignis says. He clears his throat, following the line he's reading with his index finger. "Threads innumerable do tether thee to me. For I am thine; our souls intertwine, inexorable, across the aeons. All that I have, all that I am, I surrender to thee."  
  
He looks up and finds Gladio watching him, a smile softening his mouth, though as soon as their eyes meet, his amber gaze flits away. Coughing once, Gladio turns the page on his script and reads the next line.  
  
“I return thy gift with the song of my lips; O love, I entreat thee, find solace forevermore in the haven of my arms.”  
  
They’ve been friends for so long that Ignis knows Gladio is well-read, but he’s never heard poetry given life by Gladio’s voice before. The man is no actor, perhaps, but Ignis is nonetheless ensnared by the rich warmth of his delivery. Gladio speaks the words as if Lord Valentian wrote them in anticipation of this moment, as if he knew they’d be sitting here, together, reading one another love poetry. He speaks them as if he’s appealing to Ignis’s soul, as if he’s offering a secret long kept hidden in his heart.  
  
It might be wishful thinking. These words might mean nothing Gladio. But they mean so very much to Ignis.  
  
“Iggy?” Gladio says.  
  
Blinking, Ignis emerges from his thoughts and realizes Gladio is waiting for him to read the next line.  
  
“Right,” he says, exhaling. He scans the script to find his place, bowing his head so Gladio won’t see the heat in his cheeks. “Nay; give me not a song. But grant me a kiss from thy sweet mouth, and forevermore yours I shall be.”  
  
Uncertainly, he looks up, and his heart somersaults when he finds Gladio watching him again, lips parted. One of them should be reading the next line. He’s not sure who. It doesn’t seem to matter much when Gladio’s looking at him like that. Ignis is about to say something, to prompt him to continue, when Gladio leans across the space between them, nudging their knees together, and kisses Ignis softly on the mouth.  
  
There’s no tongue, no sense of need or urgency. It’s entirely chaste. Hesitant, even. Ignis lets his eyes flutter shut, memorizing the warmth of Gladio’s lips on his own and the smell of his aftershave. He wants to open his mouth and welcome Gladio’s tongue, but he dares not. He hardly dares breathe.  
  
“Why did you do that?” he murmurs, opening his eyes, as Gladio pulls away.  
  
Gladio points to his script. “The stage direction said I was supposed to.”  
  
“Is that all?” Ignis says faintly.  
  
“I guess. Maybe.”  
  
But there’s a flush on Gladio’s cheeks, too, and he can’t seem to meet Ignis’s eyes. His fingers toy with the curled edges of the paper in his lap. Ignis wants more—more of his words, more of his mouth—as long as Gladio’s willing to give it. And he does seem willing.  
  
Ignis clears his throat and turns back to the previous page. “Shall we start from the top, then?”

**Author's Note:**

> Waywardmelody wanted a flash fic wherein Gladio and Ignis read lines from Romeo and Juliet to each other. Thanks, Way, for writing the poetry for me, and also to Atropa for helping me work out a few logistics.
> 
> As always, kudos and/or comments are much appreciated. Thanks for reading!


End file.
